Assessment of the rock fall geo-hazards of the sub-vertical rock cliffs behind the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (MTH)

Deir El-Bahari (DB) valley including the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (MTH), Luxor, in the south of Egypt, is a pronounced UNESCO world heritage site which is known as one of the “world's greatest open-air museum.” The MTH is located on the West bank of the Nile River where it is found at the toe of Theban Hills cliffs. Many other monuments are found at the same location. The geomorphology of the cliff reveals very steeply to subvertical rock walls composed of Thebes limestone with approximately height of 90–100 m. The limestone is characterized with extensive segregation and fracturing, resulting in hanging blocks and rock columns structures. The site attracts thousands of visitors annually, necessitating a thorough assessment of potential risks to ensure safety and preservation. In this study, detailed mapping and deformation analysis were conducted using Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) to survey the cliff faces and surrounding areas of the MTH. The resulting 3D point cloud enabled the construction of a geological model and extraction of discontinuities, revealing four dominant joint sets. Then, the critical source areas posing a threat to the MTH are identified based on the kinematic analysis. Subsequently, unstable blocks within these critical zones are interpreted, and targeted simulations are carried out. The rockfall hazard analysis for the MTH is then conducted based on the trajectory distributions and kinematic parameters derived from these simulations. The paper introduces the potential geo-hazards sources that might be worth monitoring in the later stages of the investigations.     «

Deir El-Bahari (DB) valley including the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (MTH), Luxor, in the south of Egypt, is a pronounced UNESCO world heritage site which is known as one of the “world's greatest open-air museum.” The MTH is located on the West bank of the Nile River where it is found at the toe of Theban Hills cliffs. Many other monuments are found at the same location. The geomorphology of the cliff reveals very steeply to subvertical rock walls composed of Thebes limestone with approximatel...     »